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Secret Path
Summary The Secret Path is a entrance to alternate versions of Spooksville. It is opened by visiting a sequence of locations significant in the life of Spooksville's founder, Madeline Templeton, and then approaching her tomb by walking backwards. Entering the Secret Path In order to activate the Secret Path, it is necessary to visit a series of landmarks in a particular order. These landmarks are where important events of Madeline Templeton's, founder of Spooksville, life took place. *'The beach '- where Madeline Templeton was "born". Sally claims that Madeline was not born on the beach, but, as local legend goes, was brought to it by a flock of sea gulls on a dark and stormy night. *'The derby t'ree '- Madeline proportedly climbed inside of the derby tree at age five and turned the leaves red. The tree distorts time and vision for those who enter it, as well as change the size of the entrance; it attempted to cleave Adam in half when he tried to escape it. *'A large cave - the largest cave, unnamed, in Spooksville, where Madeline supposedly killed a mountain lion with her long, poisonous fingernails at age 16. *'The chapel '- although Madeline was not married in the actual chapel, she was married on the ground on which it currently stands at age 28. The bells began to ring wildly when Adam, Watch, and Sally approached it in The Secret Path and stopped as they left. *'The reservoir' - this is where Madeline drowned her husband for suspected adultery. It also acts as the town water supply. Watch notes that there are no fish in it because they throw themselves out of the water. *'The beach' (jetty) - the townspeople of Springville tried to burn Madeline at the stake here. According to Sally, the wood refused to catch fire and from the logs crawled snakes, one of which bit the judge that had condemned her to death. *'The cemetery' - when Madeline died, the townspeople carried her in and buried her upside down in her coffin, as was customary for witches during that time. Bum recalls that they were too afraid to burn her. It is important to note that to enter the Secret Path, it is necessary to walk backwards toward Madeline Templeton's tomb, to simulate being carried upside-down. Alternate Versions of Spooksville The true nature of the Secret Path is not clear. The appearance of the Secret Path and the associated, alternate Spooksville depends on the dispositions of those who take it. Bum remarks, "The Secret Path doesn't always lead to the same place. It all depends on you. If you're a little scared, you end up in a place that's a little scary. If you're terrified, the path is like a road to terror." In this and other Spooksvilles, landmarks, buildings, people, and even items from actual Spooksville appear, though often changed to suit the nature of the alternate universe. For example, in The Secret Path, Adam notices that books and clothes he recently brought from his old home appear in his room, although they are dusty and covered in spiderwebs. When Adam, Sally, and Watch travel the Secret Path in The Secret Path, they end up in a hellish version of Spooksville; the sky has a red glow, the trees are bare and pointed, and tombstones, splintered coffins, and skeletons litter the ground. Sally's house is destroyed by a fallen tree, and Adam's house, though intact, contains a number of oversized spiders, a rotting turkey, and, presumably, the skeletons of his parents.